Small Change, Big Savings

At getMcare, our mission has always been about helping you achieve financial freedom and peace of mind when navigating your healthcare. But financial literacy isn't something that just matters when you reach retirement—it’s a lifelong journey.

We recently asked our bright high school writer, Cami Monarrez, to share their perspective on modern spending habits, the psychology of advertising, and what it truly means to 'buy less but buy better.' Whether you are stepping into university or stepping into retirement, the principles of mindful investing and avoiding the 'transactional culture trap' remain exactly the same. We love seeing the next generation think so deeply about financial freedom. Enjoy this guest piece!

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They say money can’t buy happiness, yet can be one of the largest contributing factors in life to your attitude. While people should aspire to not to let their money run their lives, in a vulnerable market it is easier said than done. The goal is to turn it the other way around— run your life with financial freedom. While consumer culture promises convenience, impulsive buying often creates unnecessary financial complications. The solution is to adopt a mindset of buying less and buying better. In doing this, you actually make every investment worthwhile. You may not only benefit personally but also reduce your environmental impact by consuming less.

One issue is that not many people know half the things they spend money on, and by the time you have to pay, what you owe the bill looks bigger than what you expected. To have more control over what you spend and how you spend it, you have to know the biggest issues people run into while accumulating debt, and you may even identify with some of these. Some common spending habits among Americans that negatively impact financial stability are credit lines, impulsive spending, and lifestyle inflation.

Relying on credit cards for purchases with no intention of paying them off, leading to accumulating debt, as well as engaging in high-interest short-term borrowing, which can really become unmanageable. This one is hard to avoid, but spending impulsively without a clear budget or financial plan. This just prioritizes wants over needs, which usually ends in unnecessary expenses. This leads to using credit to finance lifestyle choices rather than saving or planning ahead.

These issues slowly build up over time, so it's important to have some good solutions, like creating and sticking to a budget. Track your income and expenses to understand where your money goes, and set limits for spending. Another thing to do is to pay off credit card debts in full. Make sure to prioritize paying off credit card bills each month to avoid high-interest charges. One important thing to strive for is to limit credit card spending. Use credit cards only for planned purchases and emergencies, not for impulsive spending. Also, build an emergency fund. Many people put this off because they believe that the money will just be sitting there, and no one has money just lying around there, but it's not just lying around; you need to see this as a necessity, just in case of anything. Save enough to cover three to six months of living expenses, so you can reduce the need for short-term borrowing.

Make sure to also practice mindful spending, ask yourself before every purchase is this important? Do I need this? And does it align with my financial goals? Make sure to also educate yourself financially, A History Teacher at the British International School, Daniel Bish, says, “Financial literacy is something that should be taught from year 10 to year 12. University will be the largest debt, so before that time, financial literacy is important to have.”  That is the role that consumer education plays in shaping responsible spending habits. It is people's responsibility to get as educated as possible.

Even with education, one important external force pushing certain spending habits that people often overlook is that advertising can greatly influence spending decisions among Americans.  In the 1920s, Edward Bernays (1891–1995), widely known as the father of modern pubic relations, revolutionized advertising by applying psychology and sociology to shape public opinion and behavior. He revolutionized advertising by promoting products through societal desires rather than just facts, often using "hidden" influence. Since then, a consumer culture has been well developed, adding influencers, pop-ups, promotions, discounts all day, convincing people to shop. Daniel Bish admitted from what he has seen in generations of teaching students that “ It's becoming harder for consumers to behave rationally with ads overwhelming consumers, so rational consumption becomes rare, as even the youth have access and are exposed to the consumer culture at a young age, it builds a habit hard to break.”

If all else fails to not spend money, then this strong analogy will surely put into perspective investment versus spending. A popular financial analogy, the McDonald’s analogy, compares two individuals over the course of 20 years to illustrate the difference between investing and spending wisely:

The Investor: This person invests $10 a day into McDonald's shares, which over 20 years results in a gain of +$1,252,284.It is trying to say that consistent, disciplined investing can really grow your wealth over time.

The Spender: This person spends $10 a day on eating at McDonald's, which leads to a loss of -$73,000 over the same 20 years. This represents impulsive or unnecessary spending that does not contribute to financial growth.

The main takeaway is that small, disciplined investments can accumulate into substantial wealth, while everyday spending on things that are not necessary can lead to big financial loss. The analogy encourages mindful spending and consistent investing to build financial stability. With all this in mind, from this day forward, try to always make an effort not to spend irrationally, but educate yourself and look at the potential and limitations of your money and hold them in equal balance to live a more relaxed life.